Theodore a



T. A. B. PUTNAM. Electrical Railroad SignalsL No. 229,911. Patented July 13, 1880..

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- THEODORE ms.- PUTNAM, OF NEW Y RK, n. .Y.

' :ELECTRICAL RAlLROAD-SlGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming ,part of Letters Patent No. 229,911, dated July 13, 1880.

.'l'o'al l whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, THEODORE} A. B. Pem- NAM, of the city, county, and. State of New ,York, have invented certain improvements in :means and methods of closing electric circuits between a moving locomotive'or train and a contact on the roadway, for the purposepf operating signals, alarms, 8w, either on the I locomotive or train, or'at points along the line .of the road, all as will-be more fully hereinafterset'forth.

My invention relates to a peculiarly con- 1 structed and housed conductor arranged on or in theroadway and adapted to lee-operated by thewheel of the'passing locomotive, whereby the said conductor is/protrnded and causedto contact with another conductor or conductors born'e by the locomotiveor train.

borne'by the'passing'train.

- It also relates to the peculiar construction and arrangement of the metallicconductors Inthe drawin'g's, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, showing the conductors in Fig. 1 is a detached view of the.

contact. 7 road-conductor and its casing, showing the latter in section and closed. Fig. 2 is a trans.

' verse section through the casing of the roadconductor and the conductors on the train,

. showing the'eonductors in contact, as in Fig. 3

1. Figs. 3 and 4 are modifications of the devices shown in .Figs. 1 and 2. These will'be hereinafterreferred to more particularly. Fig. 5 is a detached view of the road-conductor,

' similar to that seen in Fig. 1", but showing the ment, and place a long contact on the locomotive and the brush or short contactpn the;

roadway. Asherein shown and described, the roadconductors are provided with housings to pro- .tect themfrom ice and snow where employed in. rigorous climates; but where such protecf'tion is not required the-conductors may be employed without such housings.

My present invention is designed to be em- Application filed May 24, 1879.

ployed in-connection with the system of signals described in my Patent No. 1 82,384, before mentioned,- and as a substitute,.as I may choose, for the parts there described for accomplishing the. same purposes.

For convenience I have shown the long-coir tact or moving conductors as borne by the tender of a locomotive, and these I, will first describe. p

Ais abase-piece, which may be of wood and be attached to the tender in any convenient manner and be arranged at any convenient height above the road-bed. To this base may be attached protective shields or overhangs B. The base-A may be arranged under the tender, as in Figs. 1 and 2, or be arranged at the side, as in Figs..3 and 4. To the faceof the base A are secured metal conducting-strips e e e", insulated from the base and from each other. Wires are led from these conductors to the battery on the locomotive or tender.

Thenon-moving or road conductor consists of a stock, G, hearingbrushes 9 g, of wire or other flexible metallic-material, which are arranged to sweep the condnctorse'e' e," as the train passes. The stock'Gr is mounted at one end of a si iitably -fulcru1ned lever, H, the other end of which is depressed by a lever acted upon by the wheel of-the passing locomotive, whereby the brushes are'protruded and caused to contact with the conductors e 0" cf.

For protection the operative mechanism and the brushes are arranged ina ho'nsing, which is provided with two qnadrant covers, 0 0, arranged to open and close by an oscillatory movement, being operated as follows: The covers are hung on a common axis, 1), and play in curved ways in the housing'qvalls. They are prolonged radially to form. arms E E, to which are pivoted links F E, which connect them with the extremity of the lever -H. -When the opposite end of the said lever is depressed by the passing locomotive the cov ers U C are thrown open to permitthe-biushes g g to protrude,-and when the'looomotivehas 5 passed and the lever is freed. a--"- suitable spring arranged under it serves to retract the brushes and close the covers again. One of the covers may be provided with a rabbet-. strip to take over the edge pf the other when they are closed, as shown in Fig.1, andthe joint where they meet in closing may be provided with a rubberhufier. "The stock G is arranged to play in suitable guides, so thatits vertical position may be insured.

The brushes 9 g are'insulated from each' other, and wires lead 'from thcm,-or some of them, to any point along the line of the road.

4 Lhave shown in Fig.2 two brushes insulated from each .other and arranged to contactwit-h three conductors, ec-e,'.on the lead from theconductorse e to the positive pole of the battery'on the locomotive, while the third conductor, is connected with the negative pole of the same. 'J-Thu's the isolated brush g, in sweeping apositive and negative conductor, a 0., simultaneously, will 'close a. circuit. between them, which circuitis confined" ,to the locomotive or train, and is a circuit of highresistance for sounding a defect-alarm. The otherpositlve conductor,- 0, forms, with the :brush 9 and its attached wires, a circuitto operate any danger-signal required, returning by the intermediary of the earth and the. 10-

comotive-body tofthe battery. .This is'a ciredit of low resistance, and the eircuitofhigh resistancecannot operate an alarm-whenthe 'currentis divided between the two but if the.

above circuit oflow'resistance should be faulty or broken, then the full current will be thrown on the circuit of high resistance, and v the alarm placed in that circuit will be sounded.

, The conducting-stripe ismade longer than the strips 6. e",and -arrangedto project beyond them, preferably atboth' ends, so that theelosing of. the circuit-Tot low resistance tainedby the earlier contact'of the road con-,

maybe insured before the circuit of. high resistance is closed. This result will be atduqtor with the conductor 0. Thisearlier contact of the road-conductor with the conductor 2 mightbe brought about bya suitable ar rangementof the brushes g gr, theconductorsa 0 0 being of the same length; but I prefer rearrange it as shown.

I have shown but one strip or conductor,'e,

, and but one brush, g,.to contact therewith;

but it is obvious that other brushes and con- .ductprs of a similar character may be added to those shown, all to be,brought into contact simultaneously to close independent circuits; or, as my battery-power would only be sufficient for a limited number of circuits to be operated simultaneously, if another circuit or circuits were -requircd, not' tohe operated simultaneously with those just describeth'such might be formed by securing other conducting-strips to the base A,arra1 1ged.t0 be swept by another brush or, brushes in-the stock Gr, the contact being arranged to take. place when the other circuits were broken. Such circuit or circuits, might also be provided witha highresistance circuit, to be closed by the brush g, as in the arrangement before described.

Modifications ofthe mechanism for throwin g-open the covers 0 C will readily suggest themsclves-as,for example, the arms E E,

provided with rungs or bars. extending across the housing, might be actuated by an arm on the stock G; or pins on the arms E E, might be arranged to play in eam-slotsinaplateto be.

moved up and down by the lever H, and the movement of the covers be produced thereby.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the brushes gg are shown arranged to be protruded vertically; but in Fig.

4 they'are shown arranged to play horizontally, 1 and the base A iscorrespondingly adjusted.

When arranged in this manner I provide the leverH with a cam, luarran'ged to act upon the extremity of a lever, I, to which the brushcstock G and'covers G O are connected. The

lever I performs in this case the functions of 5 the. lever H-in Figs. 2 and 3.

I have described hereina circuit of high resistance, to be employed for sounding a defect signal when one or all of the other circuits are impaired or broken; but I make no'claim to,

this feature herein,as it is fully embodied in a v 3. In combination. with the base A, the long conducting strip or plate 6 and the shorter conducting strips or plates 0 0, arranged as described, so that the contactof the conductor e may be assured before the conductors e e" contoo tact with the road-conductor, for the purposes Y specified.

passing locomotive, in combination with the or tender and forming the positive and negative poles of a circuit of high resistance, sub-- stant'ially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of the stock G, bearing 4. The-combination of the insulated roadconductor g, arranged to be protruded bythe.

strips or plates 6 e, borne by the locomotive flexible metallic conductors, the covers 0,0,

to operate substantially as and for the purposesset forth; o

I .6. The combination, with the road-bed conductors consisting ofthe brushes. 9 g and stock G, arrangedin a suitable housing, of

the covers 0 0 arranged to be thrown open 8. The quadrant covers 0 O; arrangedto osat the same time that thebrushes are protruded cillate on' a common axis' and one provided v by means of .suitable levers acted upon by a with an overlapping edge, in combination with s wheel on the locomotive, substantially as and the stock G, bearing the flexible conductors, 5 for the purposes set forth. and the mechanism for actuating the'stock and 7. Avmetalconductororconductors projected covers simultaneously, substantially as set from the road-bed of a railwayoby the (lzlombiforth. I nation of the stock Gr, covers" (J fl wit prolongations E E, and the lever 'H, and, when THEODORE PUTNAM' 1o required, the cam h and lever I, all constructed Witnesses,

and operated substantiallyas herein described, 7 T1108. O.-M1LEs, for the purposes set lorth. 4. Ew'S. BLAOKWELL. 

